{"id":2740,"date":"2026-09-24T11:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=2740"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T17:07:00","slug":"norris-calls-mclarens-1-5-second-baku-deficit-a-knife-in-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/norris-calls-mclarens-1-5-second-baku-deficit-a-knife-in-the-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Norris calls McLaren\u2019s 1.5-second Baku deficit \u201ca knife in the heart\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lando Norris finished Azerbaijan GP FP2 in sixth place, 1.484s behind George Russell<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Norris described McLaren\u2019s deficit as \u201cpretty pants\u201d and \u201ca little knife in the heart\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Briton insists handling is not the main concern: <strong>\u201cI just want it to be quick\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lando Norris delivered a blunt assessment of McLaren\u2019s Azerbaijan GP prospects after finishing Thursday practice almost <strong>1.5 seconds behind Mercedes<\/strong> at the Baku City Circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris placed sixth in FP2 with a <strong>1:44.831<\/strong>, leaving him <strong>1.484s behind George Russell\u2019s benchmark<\/strong>. Although the McLaren driver occupied a relatively conventional position within the leading group, the size of the deficit caused considerably greater concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re miles off,\u201d Norris told Ariana Bravo in an interview attended by <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> in Baku. \u201cWe\u2019re up there, let\u2019s say, relatively. We\u2019re in a position we expect to be in, but 1.5 seconds off the pace, so pretty pants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked whether McLaren could close the gap before qualifying, Norris responded with a question of his own: \u201cDo you think we can close 1.5 seconds?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI hope so,\u201d he continued. \u201cI have no idea, so we\u2019ll see what work we can do tonight. The car doesn\u2019t feel that bad, so it\u2019s just a little knife in the heart when you see how far off you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Norris dismisses confidence question after difficult McLaren day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McLaren endured problems during FP1, when Norris completed only 14 laps and finished <strong>14th, 1.594s away from Russell<\/strong>. The Briton said he did not have sufficient information to explain the team\u2019s difficulties and directed technical questions towards McLaren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t know that much about it, honestly, so it\u2019s better to ask the team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The situation improved in FP2, with Norris completing 22 laps and climbing to sixth. However, neither he nor Oscar Piastri appeared capable of challenging Mercedes. Piastri ended the session eighth, leaving both McLarens outside the top five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked whether he at least felt confident behind the wheel around Baku, Norris made it clear that comfort mattered considerably less than performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t really care how confident I am in the car,\u201d he said. \u201cI just care about the pace, and we\u2019re not very fast, so I don\u2019t care. I drive whatever car I get given. I just want it to be quick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not very quick at the minute, but we\u2019ll see what we can change for tomorrow,\u201d Norris concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The contradiction is what makes McLaren\u2019s position particularly concerning. Norris did not describe an unpredictable or fundamentally undriveable car. <strong>The MCL does not feel especially bad\u2014it is simply not producing the lap time required to fight Mercedes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russell led a Mercedes one-two ahead of Kimi Antonelli, while Norris also finished behind Max Verstappen and both Ferraris. The full <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/russell-holds-off-antonelli-to-complete-azerbaijan-gp-practice-sweep\/\">Azerbaijan GP FP2 results are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McLaren now has one final practice session to understand where the deficit originates before qualifying. FP3 begins on Friday at <strong>09:30 UK time<\/strong>, with qualifying following at <strong>13:00<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> follows every session of the Azerbaijan GP <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">LIVE and in REAL TIME<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F1 today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race takes place on Saturday, September 26, because Sunday is Azerbaijan\u2019s Remembrance Day. The entire programme was moved forward, with practice on Thursday and qualifying on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What time does the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Azerbaijan GP starts at <strong>12:00 UK, 07:00 ET and 15:00 local time<\/strong> on Saturday. It will run for 51 laps around the 6.003km Baku City Circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Kimi Antonelli win the 2026 F1 championship in Azerbaijan?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. Antonelli arrives in Baku with an <strong>81-point lead over George Russell<\/strong>, making him mathematically capable of securing the championship. To become champion, he must leave Azerbaijan at least <strong>75 points ahead<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where did Lando Norris finish Azerbaijan GP FP2?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris finished sixth with a 1:44.831, <strong>1.484s behind George Russell\u2019s fastest time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lando Norris says the McLaren does not feel particularly difficult to drive but admits its lack of pace left the team facing uncomfortable questions after Thursday practice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020315823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Norris alarmed by McLaren\u2019s 1.5-second deficit in Baku","42wp_featured_image_credits":"McLaren","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[517,325,117,10],"42wp_author":[59],"class_list":["post-2740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-azerbaijan-gp","tag-f1-2026","tag-lando-norris","tag-mclaren","42wp_author-fabricio-carvalho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2741,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740\/revisions\/2741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020315823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2740"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=2740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}